he average salary of a Western New York teacher is more than $45,000, according to a report issued by the Empire Center for Public Policy.

The report, released Tuesday, shows the average salary in the region increased about $1,000 from 2011. The state average is $55,000.

But salaries here are nowhere close to what is being offered downstate. Long Island schools had the highest average pay by region at $73,949.

The Mohawk Valley has the lowest average pay at $36,394.

Seven regions average pay increased over the four-year period while only the Capital Region and Mohawk Valley have decreased average pay over that period, which includes the worst period of the recession.

For the third consecutive year, Scarsdale School Dis-trict had the highest average educator pay at $115,659. Scarsdale was followed by Bronxville, Jericho and By-ram Hills, all of which reported average educator salaries above $100,000. The averages in many cases are de-pressed by the inclusion on the list of numerous substitute teachers and part-timers whose reported salaries came to a few thousand dollars per year.

According to the data, the highest paid school employee was Dr. William Johnson, superintendent of the Rockville Centre Union Free School District, who was paid $567,248. According to recent news reports, that sum includes access to a lump sum “bonus.”

The salaries do not include additional benefits, including pension and health care plans, which would make the total average teacher compensation about $60,000 in Western New York….

Read article here